breakfast

One of my favorite quick and easy breakfast (or lunch) solutions is this awesome yogurt bowl. It’s chock full of protein from the greek yogurt, nuts, seeds, and chia. It has just the right amount of sweetness from the fruit and honey. Plus, it keeps your belly full for several hours.

This is my go-to post workout meal choice. The protein and fat content are great for muscle recovery.

*I cannot stress enough how important full fat dairy products are. However, it’s almost impossible to find full fat AND organic varieties of greek yogurt. Ideally, you can just make your own (but even I don’t make yogurt). I almost always choose full fat over organic when it comes to yogurt. End Rant.*

I need protein in the morning. Like, a lot of protein. I need eggs. I need meat. But who has time for that?!

I typically make a Peanut Butter & Banana smoothie (literally a quart of smoothie) with lots of hemp protein powder and that gets me through until about 1pm. However, sometimes a smoothie doesn’t cut it. OR I only have enough milk left for JBird’s morning cereal. That child loves her bran flakes.

I had an a-ha moment while purchasing a super delicious Starbuck’s breakfast sandwich on our last road trip. WHY am I paying for something that I can make at home for WAY cheaper.

Since deciding to stop spending money on things like takeout, Starbucks, restaurants, (and anywhere else where we sometimes grab a quick bite to eat), I knew I needed to come up with more quick and easy breakfast options for my husband (and myself). I started making large batches of Whole Wheat & Flax Waffles on the weekend to reheat during the week (and eat with peanut butter and bananas), but I wanted to try my hand at my all time favorite quick breakfast: The Breakfast Sandwich.

I initially wanted to use canadian bacon, but couldn’t find it at the grocery store (I blame foggy pregnancy brain). I did find a large bag of turkey sausage patties for a great price and that sounded wonderful to me. My husband prefers sausage breakfast sandwiches anyway, and the turkey sausage gives you a great sausage flavor without all the grease.

I added spinach to the eggs to give us a boost of veggies in the morning. I’m going to try peppers and onions on my next batch (with the spinach). Spinach and eggs go so well together.

My cheese of choice was cheddar (how Wisconsin of me), but I think gouda or even mozzarella would be great. The flavor combinations are pretty endless.

My original goal was to make my own english muffins from scratch, but I was very disappointed with my first batch (although Toby Dog was NOT disappointed with them…since he stole 4 off the counter). This batch was made with store bought muffins, but I haven’t given up on my quest to make (and perfect) my own english muffins. Stay tuned for that.

After doing some math, these breakfast sandwiches (Turkey Sausage, Egg, Spinach, Sharp Cheddar, English Muffins) worked out to be about .99 cents each. WAY cheaper than anything you’d get in a drive through. Not to mention they’re healthier AND taste better too. Win-Win-Win.

-2 cups fresh baby spinach; chopped (add in any other veggies or mushrooms you see fit).

-coconut oil (to grease the pan)

-salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 350°. On a large baking sheet, separate the english muffins and lay flat to toast. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, crack the dozen eggs and beat. Add salt and pepper. Mix. Set Aside.

Grease a 9×13 pan. I used coconut oil, but you can use whatever you normally use (ie: cooking spray). Pour the beaten eggs into the dish. Sprinkle chopped spinach over eggs. Give a quick stir so the spinach is covered with eggs. Bake at 350 ° for 20-30 minutes; or until eggs are “set” and fully cooked.

While the eggs are baking, put your baking sheet of english muffins in the oven as well to toast them (take them out after 10 minutes). Now would be a great time to slice your cheese (unless it’s already sliced). If you are using a meat that needs to be cooked before you assemble the sandwiches (ie: anything not already frozen and in patty form), then cook that while the eggs bake too. **I used a brown and serve turkey sausage that was pre-frozen, so I skipped that last step. However, if I was going to use canadian bacon (or regular bacon) I would cook it before freezing**

Once the eggs are baked, remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes. You want them to be all the way cool before putting them into the freezer (otherwise, things might get weird in there). Using a biscuit cutter (sized to fit your english muffins), cut 12 egg and spinach rounds from your pan. If this seems too complicated, just cut 12 egg squares instead. I wanted rounds because I’m kind of wacky like that.

Now, Assemble!! I placed an egg round on the bottom of the english muffin, then added my turkey sausage. Next came the cheese, and the other half of the english muffin followed that. Do this 12 times. When all of your sandwiches are assembled, wrap them in foil and store them in gallon size freezer bags.

To Reheat:

Microwave:

-remove foil from sandwich, place on microwave safe plate and cook for 2-3 minutes. Devour.

Conventional Oven: (my preferred choice)

-Preheat oven to 350°

-Undo foil wrapping and set (on foil) on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes (or until center is warm).

**If someone other than yourself will be reheating these, maybe write these instructions out and tape them to the gallon freezer bag that you are storing these breakfast sandwiches in. It’s the nice thing to do**

This recipe comes courtesy of my husband; The Mountain Man. He’s spent the past year planning out the perfect breakfast muffin recipe; and you know what…he totally nailed it with these muffins. They are Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Oil Free, and just spectacular. He eats one for breakfast…and I eat about 4 (because I have the appetite of a lumberjack).

These muffins are super moist, and packed with lots of great protein to keep you full until lunch time. These are also super easy to make Gluten-Free (just switch the Spelt Flour with Quinoa, Coconut, Almond, or another type of gluten-free flour).

We bake a double batch of these bad boys twice a week…because they’re THAT good.

Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a muffin tin (or line with paper liners). In a large mixing bowl, combine ground oats, flours, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and hemp protein powder. Stir and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the honey, soaked chia seeds, vanilla, and almond milk. Add the “wet ingredients” to the “dry ingredients”; stir until well combined. Fold in the chopped apples, walnuts, and chocolate chips to the batter. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin (don’t be shy with your spoonfuls, the muffins won’t rise much).

Bake for 25 minutes; or until they pass the age old toothpick test. Let cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Now that cooler temperatures have begun to set in, it’s time to bust out my mini crockpot and serve up heaping bowls of oatmeal each morning. Oatmeal is such a great food to eat in the morning because it fills you up AND keeps you full. Now, I’ll admit it, I used to be an instant oatmeal kind of girl (mmm maple brown sugary goodness). It’s so easy to just throw a packet in the microwave and BOOM…oatmeal; but trust me, it ain’t got nothin’ on these oats. Besides, 1 packet of instant oatmeal never kept me full! I had to eat 3 packets; otherwise I’d be starving around 10am. Not cool.

I love to utilize the slow cooker method for oatmeal because it makes breakfast a breeze. I throw everything into the 3 1/2 quart crockpot, give it a stir, set the temperature to low snd say “nighty night.” When we wake up, we have a wholesome, no brainer, breakfast; piping hot and ready to eat! It’s pretty much the greatest thing ever! Not to mention, any leftovers become lunch for JBird (since she can’t seem to scarf down enough of it!).

Here’s what I use when making my super awesome oatmeal:

-1C Scottish Oatmeal (aka porridge) **I use Bob’s Red Mill brand because it’s the absolute best (taste wise and nutritionally). You could also use Steel Cut Oats, but steer clear of quick oats. You’ll end up with a gummy mess (and no breakfast…wah wah)**

-3C water

-1C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

-1/2 tsp salt

-a few dashes of cinnamon

-a few dashes of nutmeg

-2 tbs ground flax

-some “spray oil” (like Pam) to coat the inside of the crock to prevent sticking.

Set on low for 8-10 hours (however long you sleep for)

wake up and enjoy!

I add 2 tsp of pure maple syrup and a sliced up banana to mine after it’s done cooking. It’s totally boss.